Party on the Arts Quad, Friends of Chautauqua Visual Arts’ annual fundraiser gala, returns for the 2025 season from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday on the Arts Quad. Tickets to the fundraiser gala are available for purchase at art.chq.org.
Each year, Friends of CVA hosts Party on the Arts Quad as a way to connect Chautauquans with the visual art community at the Institution and raise money to support the department.
CVA Artistic Director Erika b Hess said the event Party is a valuable opportunity to celebrate the visual arts program and the artists in residence.
“By supporting the gala, Chautauquans are directly investing in the future of the visual arts,” Hess said. “You’re helping shape the next generation of culture-makers, thinkers and teachers. That support has ripple effects that go far beyond this summer.”
The gala’s theme this year is “Celestial Sky,” chosen for the intersection of two astronomical events happening Wednesday: the Southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids meteor showers.
The annual benefit provides Chautauquans with a chance to meet artists enrolled in the School of Art residency program and tour their studios, as well as participate in both a silent and live auction of artworks. In addition to the festivities, a trio of Music School Festival Orchestra students will play live music.
Funds raised by the event benefit CVA programming for future seasons. This can include scholarships for residency participants and funds for repairs to arts facilities and for programming within the school.
The residency program hosts 24 artists from across the country to develop their practices during a six-week session in the summer season. The School of Art also brings guest faculty working in a variety of disciplines to the facility for hands-on classes.
For Hess, the financial support that events like the gala generate serves as a lifeline for artists participating in the residency program.
“Many of our artists are just starting their careers, often recent BFA or MFA graduates, and without scholarships, attending a program like this would be out of reach,” Hess said. “The support removes that barrier.”
Likewise for FCVA, the fundraiser is an opportunity to ensure that the organization can continue supporting artists for years to come. According to Lydia Strohl, co-organizer of the event, FCVA’s goal is to ensure that artists will not face financial barriers if they want to attend the residency program.
She said she hopes that “we can assure any person that was accepted into the program that wants to come, that we can support them.”
Kristie Steitz, co-organizer of the event, said she helps organize the gala each year because she wants to help resident artists grow their talents.
“I think it’s important to have the resident artists here and help them grow their future,” she said. “We can do that here.”
Hess said she sees the residency program as a transformative opportunity for artists that can cultivate their practices, benefitting them for many years to come.
“For many, being at Chautauqua is a life-changing experience, something that allows them to see a whole community immersed in the arts, and it shapes their path as artists in a profound way,” Hess said. “That kind of transformation only happens because of financial support.”
